(Update: Frank Jackson will be Duke’s starting point guard next year, as Derryck Thornton will now be transferring out of Duke, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN)
Duke freshman Derryck Thornton will transfer, source told ESPN: https://t.co/AhC35pfgg4
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 10, 2016
Thornton and his family saw the handwriting on the wall. Frank Jackson will get the minutes next year over Thornton at the point.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 10, 2016
Frank Jackson, like Jabari Parker before him, is a Duke Blue Devil blue chip prospect, and follower of the Mormon faith. During the McDonald’s All-American Game dunk contest Monday night, which Jackson won, former Duke point guard and current ESPN analyst Jay Williams said, “I love that his favorite book is Book of Mormon and he’s from Utah.”
Williams was of course not referring to the Broadway musical juggernaut authored by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but instead the holy scripture created by Joseph Smith through the use of seer stones.
Frank Jackson hails from Utah, and he’s the first of the six all time McDonald’s All-American Utahns to sign with a college outside the state. During the broadcast of the McDAAG, the ESPN broadcasters mentioned that Jackson de-committed from BYU, with plans to put off his Mormon mission until later in life, in order to sign with Duke.
In the McDonald’s All-American Game post game press conference, a contest in which Jackson took home co-MVP honors (he tied Josh Jackson for a game high 19 points, on the strength of five treys), he gave praise to “Heavenly Father,” an expression that’s a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints staple.
“I’m just very grateful to my family, to all these guys, to heavenly father, it’s a surreal feeling,” Jackson told the media in response to a question about joining very rarified air- both McDAAG game, and McDAAG dunk contest MVP.
“I never thought this would happen, to be honest.”
Jackson is rated #14 in the rankings by 247 Sports, Scout ranks him #17, Rivals has him #19 and ESPN tabs him No. 11.
We asked him how he’s grown as a player this week during the series of All-Star game events.
“This is the best talent in the country, it’s the most talent I’ve ever played against and it kind of gets you ready for next year,” Jackson said.
“I got to pick it up another level, being here, this experience playing in front of all these GMs and scouts and what not is definitely going to prepare me for next year and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Jackson is slotted 14th overall, to the Chicago Bulls, in NBA Draft.net’s 2017 NBA mock draft. Yes, Frank Jackson could be like Shawn Bradley (1993, #2 overall) and Jabari Parker (2014, #2 overall) before him, a very high NBA Draft lottery pick.
On a side note, his father is Utah state senator and former Aerospace industry lobbyist Al Jackson. For a feature on his future Duke Blue Devil teammate, Jayson Tatum, go here.
So where do Frank Jackson and Jayson Tatum fit in next season in Durham? Well, here’s our Duke depth chart from our too early 2016-17 top 25 rankings; where we’ve ranked Duke #1.
1. DUKE BLUE DEVILS
Despite likely losing four starters, Coach K reloads with two of the top recruits in the country, Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, and another McDonald’s All-American, Frank Jackson. Luke Kennard, Derryck Thornton, and Chase Jeter should see increased roles while Matt Jones will be counted on for leadership.
Projected Depth Chart
C: Harry Giles (Fr)/Sean Obi (Jr)
F: Jayson Tatum (Fr)/Chase Jeter (So)/Javin DeLaurier (Fr)/Antonio Vrankovic (So)
G/F: Luke Kennard (So)/Jack White (Fr)
SG: Matt Jones (Sr)
PG: Derryck Thornton (So)/Frank Jackson (Fr)
Gone: SG-Grayson Allen, SF-Brandon Ingram, PF-Amile Jefferson, C-Marshall Plumlee
With Derryck Thornton now transferring, the point guard position will be all Jackson’s come next season.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram